Published today in El Periodico (Catalan newspaper) that in two months Empuria Brava (Catalunya) will start construction on the biggest tunnel in the world at a cost of 7.5million euros, Seems it already has a waiting list of 15 months. Better start booking your slots now.

Brave Empuria will begin the work of the tunnel of the wind in 2 months? The modern simulator of free fall will be finished in 2009 The project anticipates a sport zone dedicated to the parachuting

Project of the sport complex and leisure dedicated to the parachuting.

the works of the simulator of free fall of the aerodrome of Empuriabrava already have date of beginning. The City council of Castelló d'Empúries has announced that consistorio already has received the project of the sport complex and leisure dedicated to the parachuting, reason why within two months will grant the work license so that the works begin. The promotional company, Skydair, assure that when the installation is finished, at the beginning of the 2009, she will be most modern of the world. The tunnel of the wind is made up of a transparent cabin, whose base it leaves projected a vertical air jet of great power, that oscillates between a speed of 180 and 250 kilometers per hour. This flow allows that the people who are inside the cabin float in the emptiness, since generates of artificial form the same conditions that a parachutist in a jump of free fall experiences.

OPENED To the PUBLIC At the present time there are four simulators of this type anywhere in the world, used to a large extent by the equipment of sport parachuting to carry out the training. The tunnel of Empuriabrava will mark the difference because, in addition to being greatest, he will be open to the great public. The mayor of Castelló, Salvi Güell, explained that, after the beginning of the simulator -- that will count on a cafeteria and a building of services --, is predicted one second phase in which the facilities will be extended to construct to a great complex of leisure and sport trim in the parachuting. It will have a swimming pool and a hotel and, words of its promoters, "will turn to Empúries the capital of this sport".

Do you have any more information about the tunnel itself? What kind of tunnel, how big, how powerful?

Here ya go.

The world’s largest vertical wind tunnel is designed at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Castelldefels. The freefall simulator will be built close to Empuriabrava airport (Alt Empordà). Promoted by Voralcel S.L., it will be the first of this kind in Spain and will be marketed as Skydair. An aerodynamics research team from Escola Politècnica Superior de Castelldefels (EPSC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), has designed the world’s largest vertical windtunnel for skydivers’ training. This freefall simulator, promoted by Voralcel S.L., will be built close to Skydive Empuriabrava, the largest skydiving center in Europe with more than 120.000 jumps a year. The research team, leaded by Prof. Daniel Crespo, designed an 8-meter-high and more than 5-meter-diameter flight zone to simulate the skydiver’s freefall. The airflow, produced by six turbines, can produce an upwards air speed between 180 and 250 km/h. The drag force produced by the air is enough to balance the skydiver weight, who feels weightless. The simulator will be built close to Empuriabrava airport (Castelló d’Empúries, Girona) and will be marketed as Skydair, probably after 2008. The design made at EPSC allows the simultaneous flight of up to eight people. The main research task was to optimize the aerodynamics inside the tunnel in order to reduce the power consumption, in a range between 600 kW and 2 MW depending on the desired air speed. Passive and active safety measures were also designed, including several elastic nets, presence sensors in the upper section and a system to avoid a sudden fall in case of unexpected power interruption. This installation, the first of this kind to be built in Spain, is designed mainly for skydivers training, both beginners and experts. On the one hand, the wind tunnel allows beginners to get used to the freefall and learn how to control their body behaviour in a controlled environment and under the supervision of a trainer. Additionally, expert skydivers can use the wind tunnel to practice elaborated figures that they will execute afterwards in the sky. As a training system, it is more convenient and cheaper than jumping from an airplane, and the training time is shorter. Besides, the installation offers a performance higher than the existing installations in Paris, Bedford (United Kingdom), and Orlando or Perris Valley (USA). Moreover, the wind tunnel will be open to general public, for entertainment of those who want to experience freefall at first-hand. Several companies around the world, from South Africa, Emirates, the Czech Republic and Asia, have shown their interest in this design. This is the first research project carried out at EPSC, the only Engineering School in Catalonia that specialises in Air Navigation.